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S, H. SHORT. TURN-OUT AND CROSSING FOR LINE GONDUGTORS.

witwe/awo NITE STATES SIDNEY H. SHORT, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TOTHE SHORT ELECTRIC RAILXVAY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

TURN-OUT AND CROSSING FOR LINE CONDUCT 0R8.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 447,495, dated March 3,1891.

. Application filed April 12, 1890. Serial No. 347,632- (No model.)

To on whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SIDNEY H. SHORT, of Cleveland, in the county ofCuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Turn-Outs and Crossings in Overhead and Underground LineConductors for Electric Railways; and I do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same.

This invention has reference to turn-outs and crossings in overhead andunderground line conductors for electric railways; and the invention isparticularly designed for electric railways employing two overhead orunderground line or trolley conductors in a round metallic circuit forconveying the current by means of traveling contacts to and from themotor on the car.

The object of my improvement is to pro vide such turn-outs for the lineconductors as will permit an uninterrupted Working of the system withoutrequiring the special attention of the motor-man or engineer and withoutinterference of the conductors and trolleys of a trunk-line with theconductors of a branch line or siding. This will more fully appear fromthe following detailed description, in which reference is made to theaccompanying drawing, in which is shown a perspective view of a portionof a two-wire overhead system, showing my invention appl ed to aturn-out in a main or trunk line.

Referring to the drawings, there are shown two overhead line-wires 1 2,constituting the positive and negative conductors of a round metalliccircuit for a main or trunk line, and there are also shown two other andsimilar conductors 3 at, constituting a branch line and connected to themain line by curved sections 3 4', which latter may be of sufficientlyheavy material to retain their curved shape without the use ofstays or other means for the purpose, or which may be composed ofcontinuations of the said conductors 3 4, formed as a polygon with veryobtuse angles, as indicated in dotted lines, so as to be, in effect, acurve supported by stay or span wires such,for example, as indicated bydotted line 3arrangcd in any suitable manner. The

curved sections 3 4 are joined to the main or trunk line wires 1 2 byfrogs or switches 5 of the character usually employed for this purpose,for which reason these frogs are neither shown nor described in detail.

' As shown, both the main and the branch line Wires are supported fromspan-wires 6 by insulating-hangers 7 of any known and suitableconstruction, but the construction of these hangers is neither shown nordescribed in detail, since such construction is immaterial for thepurposes of the present invention. Each span-wire is preferably providedwith an insulating-connector 8 between the conductors, so as to insure acomplete insulation under all circumstances between the positive andnegative conductors. The construction of the connectors 8 is fully shownand described in another application, No. 346,168,

filed by me April 1, 1890, and it is not deemed necessary to furtherdescribe it herein, since it forms no part of the present invention.

The curved section 3, branching from the positive conductor 1, crossesthe negative conductor 2 before it is connected with or merges into thebranch conductor 3, and is insulated therefrom in a manner and for apurpose which I will now describe.

Depending from the conductor 2 and extending to equal distances on eachside of the curved section 3 is a double inclined guide or track 9,formed either wholly or in part of insulating material and merging atthe ends into the under side of the said condoctor 2. At the middle,Where the guide or track 9 is widest, it is notched or cut away to forma recess 10, open at its lower end, and secured to the upper end of thisrecessthere is an insulating hanger 11, carrying the 0 curved section3', and of such length that the said section 3 is above the loweropenend of the notch or recess 10.

It will be understood that the notch or recess is of such width that atrolley-wheel 5 traveling on the curved section 3' will easily passthrough it; but a trolley traveling on the conductor 2 will, when itreaches the guide 9, break contact with the said conductor, and thenride down one incline thcreof and up the other incline and ultimatelyagain make contact with the conductor 2.

The notch or recess 10, it will be observed, while wide enough to permita trolley-wheel to pass 011 the section 3, is too narrow to permit atrolley-wheel traveling on the guide 9 to enter it. Therefore thetrolley-wheel will readily pass from one incline to the other withoutexperiencing a sensible break in its supporting-track from the break inthe guide 1), caused by the said recess 10.

In a two-wire overhead system of conduct- 0rssuch as illustrated in thedrawings-t-he surface-car is provided with two independent trolleysconnected, respectively, to the terminals of the electric motor on thecar and making contact with the two overhead conductorsone with thepositive and the other with the negative conductor and in such case, assoon as the trolley traveling along the conductor 2 comes to theinsulating guide or track 9 the circuit through the motor-car is brokenand is not again established until after the trolley has reached theother end of the said guide or track, thus effectually preventing ashort circuit between the conductors 1 and 2, should the said trolleyaccidentally make contact with the curved section 3, since both wires 1and 3' are positive wires.

As will be readily understood, the break in the circuit through theelectric motor on the car, caused by the interposition of theinsulating-guide 9 in the path of one of the two trolleys, is of shortduration, and the momentum of the car will carry the trolley beyond suchguide, so that the break in the circuit produces practically no effect.

It will be noticed that when the car is switched onto the branch track,in which case it is usually driven at a slow rate and would quickly stopwere the circuit broken, the trolleys will remain at all times incontact with both curved sections 3' i, and consequently the flow ofcurrent through the electric motor will remain constant anduninterrupted.

Ifthe curved branch-line conductor 3 were placed above the main-lineconductor 2, where it crosses the same, the double inclined insulated orinsulating track would of necessity be placed on the curved conductor,and there would be a break in the motor-circuit at a point of travelwhere the speed is necessarily low. This would in many cases cause astoppage of the motor-car, which is entirely avoided by my invention, asabove set forth.

The application of the invention to singlewire andunderground systemswill be at once apparent, and for this reason it is not deemed necessaryto either illustrate or describe the same.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a two-wire system of line conductors for electric railroads, thecombination of the two trunk or main line trolley-wires with two curvedbranch trolley-wires, one of which crosses a main wire and bothaffording continuous electric trolley contact, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination, with two main trolleywires of opposite polarity, oftwo frogs or switches in said wires, two curved branched trolley wiresaffording continuous electric trolley contact and connected with saidfrogs or switches, and an insulated section in one main wire at thecrossing between one of said branched trolley-wires and the said mainwire of oppositepolarity,substantially as described.

3. In a two-wire system of line conductors for electric railroads, thecombination, with a main or trunk line, of a curved turn-out from themain line having one of its conductors crossing but clearing the saidmain line below the latter and afiording continuous electric trolleycontact, and an insulating guide or track on the crossed main-lineconductor bridging the crossing turn-out conductor, substantially asdescribed.

at. In a two-wire system of line conductors for electric railroads, thecombination, with the two conductors of a trunk or main line, one ofwhich is provided with a double inclined and notched insulated orinsulating track, of a turn-out or branch composed of a frog in eachmain conductor, a curved conductor extending from the frog on one mainconductor underneath the other main conductor through the notch in thetrack, and another curved conductor extending from the other frog,substantially as described.

5. The combination, with two main trolleywires and two frogs orswitchesin said wires,

of two curved branched trolley-wires, one of which crosses a main wirebelow the latter and both connected with said frogs or switches, anotched insulated or insulating track in the crossed main wire at thecrossing, and a support for the crossing wire in the notch,substantially as described.

6. The combination, with a span-wire, of a trolley-wire provided with adouble inclined and notched track, an insulated support between saidspan-wire and said track above the notch therein, a crossingtrolley-wire extending through the notch, and an insulator supportingthe crossing wire in said notch, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

SIDNEY ll'. SHORT.

Vi tnesses:

A. B. CALHOUN, W. A. PALLANT.

